Content
Two months after the schools in North Rhine-Westphalia were closed, the school committee of the state capital decided to organize a summer vacation offer for the students in Düsseldorf. As a result, the school administration office asks the zdi network MINT Düsseldorf to also offer digital and scientific-technical workshops. This is how one of the largest is created within 4 weeks MINT holiday programs in Germany.
The offer is aimed at students of all ages and school types. For example, elementary school students build a motor from everyday objects, look into the "brain" of a robot or deal with life in the future. Secondary school students program escape rooms, work with 3D printers or program games.
All courses took place on the premises of the Heinrich Hertz vocational college in Düsseldorf.
idea / target group
The Covid 19 pandemic has severely restricted school operations. And the transition to digital teaching is going differently. As a result, schoolchildren in NRW miss out on a lot of subject matter. After two months of school closures, the school committee of the state capital Düsseldorf sees a need to catch up in terms of expertise and turns to the school administration office with a request to the zdi network in Düsseldorf. Within four weeks, the network is to set up a summer holiday program for students of all levels and school types. One thing is particularly important to the school committee: the summer holiday program should convey school-related content. Since compulsory attendance in schools was lifted, many offers for students have been discontinued - especially in the area of professional orientation. For zdi in Düsseldorf, the motto is: do MINT instead of "hanging out"!
At a glance
The Düsseldorf school committee calls for meaningful employment for schoolchildren during the summer holidays and turns to the zdi network MINT Düsseldorf.
One of the largest MINT holiday programs in Germany will be built within 4 weeks.
Almost 50 different courses during the summer holidays.
Very good feedback from students and parents.
The demand for holiday offers has risen sharply. The network is now even better connected.
During the summer camp, clicks on the website of the zdi network MINT Düsseldorf increased thirtyfold.
numbers
- 47 workshops
- 625 participating students
- 96 lecturer assignments
- 148 workshop days created
- 884 workshop hours
implementation / planning
A particular challenge for the coordinator of zdi in Düsseldorf, Ekkehard Hostert, was the search for partners and lecturers. Within four weeks, dozens of lecturers had to be found, course concepts and dates coordinated. At the beginning of the summer holidays, about half of the entire program was complete. For zdi in Düsseldorf, this meant that other offers had to be planned in parallel with the implementation of courses. In the end, 47 different courses took place. Almost all workshops lasted several days, many more than 5 days.
Codingschule Junior, HABA Digitalwerkstatt, Heuron (company specializing in 3D printing) and Coding For Tomorrow (an initiative of the Vodafone Foundation Germany) were among the partners involved.
Financing
All courses in the holiday program were free for the girls and boys. The financing of the lecturers, materials and the like was provided with funds from the zdi-BSO-MINT funding program and from the city of Düsseldorf.
Perspective / Tips for imitators
There is no blueprint for imitators. Success depends heavily on the local actors involved. The question is therefore: Which local companies, universities or training providers would like to get involved and organize something? This then results in topics and content. The format of the workshops, such as group size or course duration, are the same for everyone.
The response to the summer holiday program was extremely good. "Düsseldorf absorbed our offer like a sponge!" emphasizes Ekkehard Hostert. Afterwards, he received many calls and emails from enthusiastic parents. And many parents wished for a similar offer for the autumn holidays. Preparations are underway.
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“My son Vincent took part in a coding week last week. I just wanted to give you the feedback that he was COMPLETELY EXCITED. He found the programme, the participants and his learning experience to be extremely good.”
"Thank you for the great workshop. Fabian had a lot of fun with it. He learned a lot and used the week wisely.”
"I very much hope that these courses will become an integral part of the holidays or even everyday school life."
